US3002576A

US3002576A - Weighing scale

Info

Publication number: US3002576A
Application number: US728852A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kuhnle Ernst
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1958-04-16
Filing date: 1958-04-16
Publication date: 1961-10-03
Anticipated expiration: 1978-10-03

Description

E. KUHNLE WEIGHING SCALE Oct. 3, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 16, 1958 m. 7 w. 6 M 8 Q m 1 mt m. k m E l ,V b w 4 w 7. fi m v 2 2 Z n l E. KUHNLE WEIGHING SCALE Oct. 3, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 16, 1958 l/vwsmme j A We.

ari J ILXZ Patented Oct. 3, 1961 r 3,002,576 WEIGHING SCALE Ernst Kuhnle, Hermann-Rommel-Strasse 28, 'Balingen, Wurttemberg, Germany Filed Apr. 16, 1958, Set. No.'728,852

C fl t 1 1-2 5) This invention relates to weighing scales of the platform type. inwhich the platform is supported by a plurality of parallelfulcrum edgesfuponasystem of weighing levers from which weightindications may be derived.

In the practical operation of such a weighing scale the platform is likely to be subjected .to horizontal jolts from variousdirections. The-invention therefore relates more particularly to improvements in the means foryield'abl'y.

supporting the platform in a manner wherebythe fulcrum mountings will be protected against undue stress/or damagefrom such jolts.

means rendering the platform yieldable horizontally in response to joltslf'romlvarious directions, while avoiding the inherentldrawbacks of prior constructions suchas the known suspensions or their equivalents which'would'allow the jplatform to ,yieldin an uncontrolled manner-upon impact, and would require a considerable amount of time for the platform to recover its position of rest, and so would affect the weight indications,

Ihe object then is to provide improved supporting means whereby the fulcrum mountings are protected against horizontal impacts or jolts, with the platform yielda-ble in all, directions ,from a position of rest in such a jmanner that, the platform will recover its position ,of

uiding prompt and accuratev weight indications.

accordance with-Tthe invention, this object is attainable by providing novel supporting means whereby a hori nontaljcatrier member is supported upon the fulcrum edges insuchfa way that'i-twill yield to a limitedextent and bcnstabi-lized quickly and positively, thereby pronIy inder horizontal impact ina direction transversely bers allowing for lateral displacementof ,thecarrier mem her in. both directions from the position of rest.

1 Further features lie in details of construction and arrang ement; of, the novel supporting means, as well as in stabilizing means associated with .the supporting means for quickly returning the carrier member to its position of rest. g t I Qther features' and advantages will hereinafter appear. The novelfeatures which are considered as character- It is-among the objects to provide improved supporting istic for theinvention are set forthin particular in the appendedclaims. The invention itself, however, both as to its constructionand itsmethod of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be bestunderstood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: I

FIG; 1 is a longitudinal part-sectional view of the weighingxscale, illustrating the carrier member and the platform member in their operational relationship; 1' FIG.2 is an end taken on lines 22 ofrFlGfl;

FIG. 3 is a plan-,viewin detail taken on line 3-: upon the carrier of FIG. 1, with the platformfltnbfi omitted; 1 I a FIG. 4 is anenlarged cross-section view of the earner member taken on line44 of FIG. 3, and embodying structural examples of the supporting meansfor the carrier member; I I

FIG. 5 is a similar enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3, embodying other structural citamples of the supporting means;

FIG. 5a is an operational detail view illustrating the function of one of the examples of the supporting means.

FIG. 6 is a detail view of the upright supporting members, taken online 66 of FIG. 5, showing a pair of upward projections providing a. pair of tilting edges;

' FIG. 7 is a plan view of the member shown in FIG. 6;

and V FIG. 8 is adetailcrosssection taken on line 88 in FIG. 5, illustrating more clearly the arrangement of a semi-rigid connection between one of'the upright supporting members and the carrier member.

The weighing scale; embodw'ng the invention in a preferred form thereof i-scontained substantially in a housing indicated bydotdash lines, with a column 11 indicated at one end of the housing to carry the weight indicator head ,12, Within the horizontal base portion of the housing is contained-the conventional weighing lever ys -.3 t

i The weighing scale being of the platform type comprises a load receiving platform member 13 horizontally movable infa linear direction indicated' as by arrow A upon a carrier member or frame 16 rectangular in plan view as seen in FIG. 3. )A set of rollers 14are mounted in respective corners of the carrier member 16 for the purpose-ofanti-frictionally supporting the platform member 13 in its prescribed linear movement upon the frame. The platform member is formed at the near end with a downward fiange or skirt portion 13a engaging the outer end of a pair of springmrged horizontal snubbing rods '17 mounted for horizontal axial movement in upright ribs 16b formed onthe frame or carrier member 16, the snubbing rods thus being shiftable axially in a direction coextensive with the direction of linear movement of the platform member13relative to the supporting frame 16. A compression coil spring surrounds each of the snubbing rods 17, being confined between one of the ribs 16b and a cross pin 19 provided on-the In this way the platform member 13, is urged at all times to its forward end position in thedirection away from the column 11 the indicator head 12, that end position being defined, by a stop 13b provided upon the far end of the platform mama her '13 for engaging theadja'cent end portion of the carrier member 16 'An impact orjol-t received in the horizontal direction of arrow A andcoextensive with the fulcrum edges, may displace the platform member 13- along its, prescribed line of movement upon the carrier member to an extent 1 limited, by. its abutment against the indicator column 11. Q'Such horizontal linear displacement against the pressure of springs 18avoids having the impact transmitted to the'ffulcrum mountings 42 referred to further below. p

, 'It will be 'seenin FIG.'3 that the, carrier member-16 is supportedfat

fourpoints orilocalities

20, 21,22, 23. It will further'be seen that atpoints-20 and 23 the carrier member .is supported upon respective fulcrum means by wayof a transverse beam 24, while at points '21 and 22 that member is supported by a horizontal beain 2,5, both horizontal beams extending in horizontally spaced parallel relationship with respect to each other and extensive with thedi'rection of the linear movement of the platform member on the carriers. These and 25 are supported upon fulcrum edge members '26 to illustrate the compensatory supporting means are shown. in. the locality of supporting point 20 and in the locality of the supporting: point 23' respectively. In the

caseoffthe supporting points

20 and 21 there are provided in effect articulated or pivotal connections whereby the parts are movable about horizontal axis parallel to fulcrum edges, whereas at the supporting'points 22 and 23 the supporting means include cooperative abutment members allowing. for compensatory mobility'between'the upright, supporting member and'the' carrier member; The two supporting points 20 and, 23 provided by the horizontal beam member 24 in this example illustrate each a different embodiment of the abutment type of support between complementary abutment members whereas supporting

points

21 and 22 provided by the other beam member 25 are of the type that has articulated or pivotal connections owing to the'provision'of' spherical or curved bearing, contact faces, one embodiment of that type of bearing being shown in FIG. 4 while another one is shown inFIG. 5.

In detail, the supportingpoint .23 comprises a horizontal downward facing abutment'plate 31 having an upward reduced pin portion 31a seated" in the carrier member 16. Cooperative with this down-facing abutment plate 31 is an abutment pin or part 32 herein also termed an upright compensating supporting member or post.

In this example the pin is mounted on the beam member 24'by means of a reduced pin portion 32b fitted into a vertical bore provided in the beam member. This supportingmember 32 is formed with a shoulder portion 32c whereas the upper associated abutment member 31 is formed with a corresponding shoulder portion 315. These two complementary shoulder portions 31b and 320 are engaged by a U-shaped coupling member 33 in a manner whereby the complementary abutment members 31'and 32 are connected loosely with each other, in what is herein called a semi-rigid relationship. The semirigid character of this connection is due to the fact that member 35 being formed at the lower end with a reduced pin portion 35a fitted. into a vertical bore provided in the beammember 25, so that in this way the member 35 is firmly seated in the beam. At its upper end this pin member 35 is formed with a reduced pin portion 35b presentingan upper terminal cylindrical surface curved about a horizontal axis. The generatrix of this cylindrical surfaceat the peak thereof is parallelto and substantially in a? vertical plane with the horizontalvortex line of the fulcrum bearing member'42 mentioned below.

In the example of the supporting point 20 an inverted socket. member 36 is fitted into a vertical bore provided in the carrier member 16, the socket member having a downwardly open dead endbore 360 in which lodges the reduced andspecially' shaped or tapered top end portion 37b" offthe complementary pin member 37 constituting the upright compensating; supporting member for the: 'In; this example thepin member. 37 has'an intermediate portion of largedi ameter, .a= reduced lower end-portionorpin portion 37afitted-intotar vertical bore provided in the:horizontalibeam carrier member 16 at this point.

member 24, and a reduced top end portion or pin end 37b tapered" towards the end so as to haverelatively loose fit and angular mobility in the dead end bore 36c of the receiving socket 36. The intermediate large diameter middle portion of pin member 37 has an annular horizontal shoulder face surrounding the reduced top end portion. 37b, and". from thisshoulder risei akpain' of projections 37c arranged in: diametricallyopposed position relative to each other presenting horizontally aligned abutment faces normally engagedby corresponding abutment faces presented at the underside of thesocket mem ber 3641.

In the example of supporting'point 21 the compensatory supporting means comprise an. inverted bearing 'member 38 having] a reduced pin portion 38a which constitutes'. its upper end fitted" into avertical bore provided" in carrier member 16, whereby the'bearing member'isfirmly seated in the carrier member in inverted relationship thereto; This inverted bearing member is formed at its lowere'nd with a shoulder portion 385, the lower face of thisbearing member-being gauged out or formed with a spherical recess into which fits a spherical bearing member 39; A complementary bearing'member to'receive'the bearingsphere 39is provided'by a pin member '40 having a reducedpin portion 48forming its cover endfitted into a verticalbore' provided in the beam member 25, where-- by*the pin member 40is' firmly seated in the beam ZS-so as' to tilt unitary therewith upon the associated fulcrum means; The complementary lower'spherical bearing face in'the'pin'member 40 is designated by the'num'eral 400. The top face of the pin member 40 is definedby' a cylihdrical' curve the generatrix of which at the theoretical peak ofthe surfaceextends'parallel to thevortex line of fulcrum bearing member 42 vertically below. The invertedbearin'g' member 38 and the upright supporting member 40 are shown in this example to be'coupled togeth'er' in a semi-rigid manner to allow for limited tilting: movement about the fulcrum. edge, by means of a' U- shaped coupling member 41' engaging the shoulder por-, tion's 38b and" 40b formed upon' the complementary members 38'and40 respectively. Thus there isprovided a coupling connection'of limited mobility, similar to that shown in connection with the supporting point 23' of FIG.-45

Thebeam members 2'4and'25'pro'videthe supportfor the four supporting points20, 21', 22; 23, the beammembers themselves being in turn supported by the fulcrum bearingmembers 42 aforementioned and shown to be secure'dagain'sthorizontally directed displacement as by means of the balls 43 effective to lock the fulcrum bearingmembers in'their respective seats;

' Wheneverthere is imparted to'the platform member 13 a jolt orirnpact as in'the direction of arrow B'in' FIG. 5, such'impact will'be tnansmit-t'ed to'the' carrier member '16; the direct-ion of sflch impact their being transversely of the fulcrum" edges which support the carrier member; However, only when the impactattains acertain intensitywillthecarrier' member 16'yield inthat direction; Hence; as illustrated in FIG; 5a, the upright supporting members will'fbetiltedslightly while either one'orthe' other ofthe edgesEl and E2 of the projections 370 will become effective as tilting edges in contact with the bottom face of the inverted socket member 36a. silch-tilting'movement' of the upright pin member 37 about the fulcrum edge in the fulcrum bearing42 occurs-similarly in the example'at point 23, where the opposed peripheral edgeportions of the inverted abutmentpin portion 32b will-act-as tilting edges-incident to tilting-.of the upright member 32 about the associated fulcrum edge in the fulcrum bearing member 42: Here again, the mobility is limited by the coupling member 33engaging; the? complementary abutment-t portion'sin a manner similar." to that described: above in connection with supportingpoint. 21.

1 Ini-responseto theimpactdireetd transversely of the fulcrum edges both the

beam'members

25 and 24 must move or tilt in unison together with the upright supporting members or pin members mounted on them. It will be noted, however, that a rolling contact is realized between the contact faces of pin members 38 and the fact that the loaded carrier member 16 because of its semi-rigid connection with the beam member 24 must follow the arcuate movement of fulcrum mounting 42 and 26 about the fulcrum edge of fulcrum member 280 on lever 28. Similarly,the opposite fulcrum mounting 42 and 27 supporting the beam member 25 must follow the opposite arcuate movement incident to the angular movement of the weighing lever 29 about the fulcrum edge 29a. In this way, due to the provision of the compensatory supporting means or tiltable upright supporting members, the variationsoccurring in the distance D between the fulcrum mounting 42, 26 and the fulcrum mounting 42, 27 are compensated and absorbed.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of weighing scales differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in platform type weighing scales, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a weighing scale of the platform type, the combination which comprises a horizontal carrier member; fulcrum means having parallel fulcrum edges; supporting means supporting said carrier member and supported by said fulcrum means in such a manner asto be effective to transmit the weight of the carrier member to said fulcrum means and to render said carrier member horizontally yieldable only in a direction transversely of the fulcrum edges from a position of rest relative to the fulcrum edges; said supporting means comprising two pairs of upright supporting members tiltable together about respective fulcrum edges with the tendency to return to the position of rest, said upright supporting members having operative connections with the carrier members whereby said supporting members may tilt incident to lateral displacement of the carrier member from the position of rest, wherein two of said operating connections comprise means providing for pivotal movement of the carrier member on the supporting member'- about a horizontal axis parallel to the fulcrum edges, and wherein the other two operating connections comprise abutment means having load transmitting horizontal abutment contact faces one of said faces being formed with a pair of horizontal tilting edges parallel to each other and to the fulcrum edges and spaced to straddle the center of the supporting member, one or the other of said parallel tilting edges being rendered effective as such incident to horizontal displacement of the carrier member in the one or in the other direction from its position of rest.

V 2. In a weighing scale ofthe'platform type, the combination which comprises a horizontal carrier member;

fulcrum means having parallel fulcrum edges; support ing means supporting said carrier member and by said fulcrum means in such a manner as to beetfec tive to transmit the weight of the carrier member to' said fulcrum means and to render said carrier member horizontally yieldable only in a direction transversely of the fulcrum edges from a position of rest relative to the fulcrum edges; a platform member mounted upon said carried member in a position of rest and yieldably movable in a horizontal plane relative to said carrier member only in a direction normal to the direction of movement of said carrier member and tending to return from any such moved position to said positionof rest; said supporting means comprising two pairs of upright support: ing members tiltable together about respective fulcrum edges with the tendency to return to the position of rest, said upright supporting members having operative connections with the carrier members whereby said supporting members may tilt incident to lateral displace ment of the carirer member from the position of rest, wherein two of said operating connections comprise means providing for pivotal movement of the carrier member on the supporting member about a horizontal axis parallel to the fulcrum edges, and wherein the other two operating connections comprise abutment means having load transmitting horizontal abutment contact faces,

fulcrum means having parallel fulcrum edges; supporting means supporting said carrier member and supported by said fulcrum means in such a manner as to be effective to transmit the weight of the carrier member to said fulcrum means and to render said carrier member horizontally yieldable only in a direction transversely of the fulcrum edges from a position of rest relative to the fulcrum edges; a platform member mounted upon said carrier member for movement from a position of rest relative to the carrier member only in a direction parallel to said fulcrum edges; stabilizing means operatively connected to said platform member for effecting the return of said platform member to said position of rest; said supporting means comprising two pairs of upright I supporting members tiltable together about respective fulcrum edges with the tendency to return to the position of rest, said upright supporting members having operative connections with the carrier members whereby said supporting members may tilt incident to lateral displacement of the carrier member from the position of rest, wherein two of said operating connections comprise means providing for pivotal movement of the carrier member on the supporting member about a horizontal axis parallel to the fulcrum edges, and wherein other two operating connections comprise abutment means having load transmitting horizontal abutment contact faces, one of said faces being formed with a pair of horizontal tilting edges parallel to each other and to the fulcrum edges and spaced to straddle the center of the supporting member, one or the other of said parallel tilting edges being rendered effective as such incident to horizontal displacement of the carrier member in the one or in the other direction from its position of rest.

4. In a weighing scale of the platform type, the combination which comprises a horizontal carrier member; fulcrum means having parallel fulcrum edges; supporting means supporting said carrier member and supported by said fulcrum means in such a manner as to be effective allel: tosaid' fulcrum edges; a set of rollers mounted on said carrier member for supporting said platform member for movement upon said carrier member; stabilizing" means' operatively connected tosaid platform member for effecting the return of said platform member to said position of rest;- said supporting means comprising two pairs of upright supporting members tiltable together about respective fulcrum edges with the tendency to return: to theposition of rest, said upright supporting members having operative connections with the carrier members whereby said supporting members may tilt incident to lateral displacement of the carrier member from the-position of rest, wherein two of said operating connections comprise means providing for pivotal movement of the carrier member onthe supporting member about a horizontal axis parallel to the fulcrum edges, and wherein other two operating connections comprise abutment contact faces, one of said faces being formed with a pair of horizontal tilting edges parallel to each other and to the fulcrum edges and spaced to straddle the center of the supporting member, one or the other of said parallel tilting edges being rendered effective as such incident to horizontal displacement of the carrier member in; the one or in the other direction from its position ofrest.

v 5. In a weighing scale of the platform type according to claim 3 wherein the stabilizing means include compression spring means located between said carrier mem her and said platform member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 916,818 Winslow Mar. 30, 1909 20 2,196,334 Chamberlain Apr. 9, 1940 2,657,92l MacBride Nov. 3, 1953 2,742,278 Carleton Apr. 17, 1956